United States & the Cold War The Art of Diplomacy

Goals & Objectives

-Goal: Students will analyze the importance of diplomacy when learning
about U.S. foreign policy.
-Objective: Students will be engaging in a simulation of diplomacy in which
they play as rivaling nations and minor nations arguing their case to the U.S.
for support.
California State Content Standards
-11.9.2: Understand the role of military alliances, including NATO and SEATO,
in deterring communist aggression and maintaining security during the Cold
War.
Common Core Literacy Standards
-CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.RH.11-12.2 = Evaluate various explanations for actions
or events and determine which explanation best accords with textual
evidence, acknowledging where the text leaves matters uncertain.

-CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.RH.12-12.6 = Evaluate authors' differing points of view on

the same historical event or issue by assessing the authors' claims, reasoning, and
evidence.
-CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.W.11-12.2 = Write informative/explanatory texts to examine and
convey complex ideas, concepts, and information clearly and accurately through the
effective selection, organization, and analysis of content.
-CCSS.ELA.LITERACY.W.11-12.7 = Conduct short as well as more sustained research
projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem;
narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the
subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.
Driving Historical Question
-Why does diplomacy play an important role in foreign policy?
-For nation-states; how difficult is it to make the case that you need the U.S.
support and not your enemies? How shocking is it when your enemies have
the support?
-For United States; how difficult is it to make the final decision, knowing that
whatever decision you make, others will suffer the consequence?

Lesson Introduction (Anticipatory Set/Hook/Accessing Prior Knowledge)

Time: 10 MIN
-YouTube clip on Obama and his Foreign Policy.
-Discussion on making decisions and the consequences that follows. Example
is whether to study the night before the test day or hang out with friends
instead. Consequences (good or bad) follows afterwards.
Vocabulary (Content Language Development) Time: 5 minutes
Vocabulary terms will be made on handouts and serve as background
knowledge for the activity.
-Henry Kissinger
-Richard Nixon
-Leonid Brezhnev
-Realpolitik
-Detente
-Nixon's Visit to China
-Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (SALT I)
Content Delivery (Method of Instruction) Time: 5-7 MIN
-Teacher assigns students in groups by counting 1-6. It will come up to five
groups of six students.
-Only one group acts as the United States.
-For the other four groups: two act as major rivaling nations, and the other
two act as minor nations that are the targets of the rivaling nations.
-Each 'nation' must make their case to win the support of the U.S. for their
cause. They also can make deals with other nations.
-In the end, the U.S. can only offer support to one nation. Once the support
has been declared, the nation reveals their deals with other nations.

Student Engagement (Critical Thinking & Student Activities) Time: 10 MIN

-Students in their assigned groups, in terms of nations, will make a flag as
well as two 'documents': one about the facts of their country, and another
document that keeps track of deals made with other nations.
-Each group can interact with other countries to make deals. It must be kept
as a secret for each country.
-Each group then must present their issues and arguments to the U.S. in
order to gain the support.
Lesson Closure Time: 10 MIN

-Discussion about how the events unfolded when the U.S. made a decision to
support one nation over others.
-Reflection with students and their groups on how ruthless the activity was,
which gives them an understanding on how foreign policies function.

Assessments (Formative & Summative)

-Formative: Creation of each group's "documents", interaction with other
groups for 'deals', U.S. group weighing the content of requests & pleas from
other groups
-Summative: Each group delivers their plea of wanting the U.S. group to
support them, U.S. group makes final decision on which nation to support.
Accommodations for English Learners, Striving Readers and Students with
Special Needs
-English Learners: Be paired in groups with mainstream English speakers.
-Striving Readers: Instructions on activities as well as copies of the group's
"documents".
-Students w/ Special Needs: Accommodated accordingly with the group
assigned into.
Resources (Books, Websites, Handouts, Materials)
-Books: Textbook for vocabulary
-Handouts: Instruction for activity that is downloaded, vocabulary sheet, and
"documents", one on nation's biography and the other on secret
deals/alliances.
-Materials: Paper, pencils, pen, color pencils, Posters